Dan Mullen has embraced Mississippi State's Egg Bowl rivalry since day one four years ago.

Mullen has also never lost to Ole Miss having outscored the Rebels 103-53 in those three victories and has had the Golden Egg Trophy housed in Starkville for 1,086 days.

"Obviously it's the biggest game of the year for us," Mullen said. "It is every year. It's of huge importance. It's the final game of the year, you're rivalry game. It means a lot to these kids. A lot of these kids on both teams played against each other growing up. We've got a lot of kids from Mississippi on our team and they know how important this rivalry is. They grow up with it. It's not an intrastate rivalry like some of them are. It's a neighbor to neighbor rivalry which makes it an even bigger game. Our guys know what an important deal it is and we always make a huge emphasis on it."

The Bulldogs have the "Battle of Highway 82" game with Alabama each year but make no mistake, Mullen understands who State's rival is.

"It's pretty clear cut for us who our big rivalry team is here," Mullen said. "Our administration, our fan base, our student body and everybody in the state of Mississippi understands that."

This year's game will have the most postseason implications than any other during Mullen's tenure. At 8-3, the Bulldogs are jockeying for bowl position while Ole Miss is battling to become bowl eligible sitting at 5-6.